FESTIVE CINNAMON & RAISIN COOKIES

I don't tend to bake a lot, mainly because I don't own scales or a mixer (London house share minimalism as I would call it) but also because I usually lack the patience and time required to master the art of making cakes, pastries and the like. I love cooking and the instant results you get but make me wait two hours for some yeast to rise and I am out.

However with some time out of the office before Christmas and still lusting after Crme's incredible raisin cookies, I wanted to try and recreate something similar at home. After some searching on the world wide web I stumbled across this super easy recipe for gooey and soft cinnamon and raisin cookie and to make things even better no scale or mixer is required to make them!

All you need is a cup measure which you can pick up in just about any Poundland or the like, some bowls and a bit of elbow grease to mix all the different components together before baking! Take your time when soaking the raisins in the butter, sugar and cinnamon juice as this helps make the cookies extra soft and gooey. You could add chocolate chips but I don't think its needed - they taste like pure Christmas joy with the raisins, the cinnamon and buttery dough and are a delight to eat whether straight out of the oven while still warm or the next day with a lovely glass of almond milk!

Give these a go over the festive days, even a baking novice like me managed to get them impressively right and they have been firmly added to my recipe repertoire.

INGREDIENTS

• 225g unsalted butter
• 2 cups raisins
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (or triple to amount of baking powder)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup golden brown sugar
• 2 large eggs

• Add the butter to a medium-sized sauce pot and place it over low-medium heat.
• Once the butter has melted, turn the heat to low.
• Add the raisins, vanilla and cinnamon and stir to blend. Cover and let this gently simmer for 10 minutes.
• Turn the heat off, keep the pot covered, and let it sit for 50 minutes.
• While the raisins are soaking, preheat the oven to 175 celsius.
• Cover 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside, and adjust two racks towards the centre of the oven.
• In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking soda. Set aside.
• Add both sugars to a large mixing bowl and set aside.
• Once the raisins have soaked in the butter for 50 minutes, add the mixture to the bowl with the sugar and mix to blend. Then add the eggs and mix until they are fully incorporated.
• Fold the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until you no longer see any dry spots.
• Use two big spoonsto drop the batter onto the parchment-lined baking sheets. There should be a couple of centimetres between them.
• Bake in the preheated oven until they're set and slightly golden along the edges, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Let them cool a little and enjoy!